Britain's Hammond: We have the numbers to defeat Johnson on Brexit

Speaking ahead of the crunch vote, the Prime Minister's spokesman reiterated that Tory MPs who voted against the Government would lose the Conservative whip - including those who abstain.

The government received 301 votes but failed to beat the motion after 328 MPs including more than 20 Tory MPs voted for it.

Now MPs have voted to take control of parliament, they will be able to put a bill which seeks to take no-deal Brexit off the table.

British MPs opposed to leaving the European Union without a deal on October 31 are poised to vote against the government on Tuesday in a move that could trigger an early election.

Johnson has rejected the divorce deal on the table but insists he wants to reach an agreement with Brussels to ease the end of Britain's 46-year-old European Union membership.

After the vote, Corbyn told Johnson that he must get the Brexit delay bill that will be discussed on Wednesday passed before trying to call an election.

The organisations said such a scenario would "create substantial disruption for businesses, workers, farmers and regulators" in the United Kingdom and the countries they were representing.

She said the chances of a fresh Brexit deal were disappearing as the government was "asking for the impossible" in its negotiations with the EU.

Johnson has warned Conservative lawmakers they will be expelled from the party if they vote with the opposition. If passed it will ensure that Boris Johnson has to seek an extension so that he can not drag the country over a cliff edge.

In a theatrical show of defiance, Conservative MP Phillip Lee crossed the floor of the Commons while Johnson was making his statement, to defect to the pro-European Liberal Democrats.

Brexit row sees UK heading for another mid-term poll

In the eye of the Brexit maelstrom, it was unclear if opposition parties would support any move to call an election - which requires the support of two-thirds of the 650-seat House of Commons.

Former worldwide development secretary Rory Stewart has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was sacked from the Conservative Party by text message.

Ms James has backed the withdrawal agreement each time it has been before Parliament, but she said that her determination to rule out a no-deal Brexit had angered some local party members.

Johnson said if MPs vote for the no deal bill, the only way forward would be for the people to decide.

With 21 of Johnson's own party MPs voting against the government, the prospect of the bill to block a no-deal Brexit clearing on Wednesday became more of a reality and the likelihood of a snap general election also in play by around October 14.

Johnson has argued that offering an extension would give Brussels the leverage in Brexit talks, and that keeping a no-deal option on the table was vital to negotiating a reasonable departure. Former Labour leader Tony Blair called an October election an "elephant trap" that Labour should avoid.

On Monday, he sought to scare off a rebellion by letting it be known he would push for a snap general election if MPs succeed in their bid to seize control of parliamentary proceedings.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said lawmakers were seeking to prevent Johnson "playing Russian roulette with this country's future".

In the convoluted, protracted, high-stakes game of poker that is Brexit, it has become very hard to predict who will blink first.

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